The Parma father who left his wounded and unresponsive 22-month-old son in the trunk of his car while he turned himself in to police has been indicted for aggravated murder.
On the night of May 12, Jason Shorter, 41, walked into the Parma Police Department with bloody and cut-up wrists as a result of self-inflicted wounds. He raised his hands and told police he wanted to turn himself in for a crime, as seen in surveillance video released by the department.
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Police searched Shorter's vehicle shortly after and said they found the toddler in the trunk with stab wounds in his chest. The boy was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Shortly before Shorter turned himself in, officers said the boy’s mother, Nicole Lawrence, asked police for a welfare check on the child. She said Shorter failed to bring their son back to her. According to court documents, Lawrence had been granted primary custody of the child just five days prior.
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Shorter's seven-count indictment charged him with three counts of aggravated murder and one count each of kidnapping, murder, felonious assault and endangering children.
